Children&#39;s teeter totter play toy



Feb. 24, 1959 s. M. FORD 2,874,515

CHILDREN'S TEETER TOTTER PLAY TOY Filed April 4. 1956 I N VENTOR .Si/as M. Ford ATTORNEY UnitedStatesPatentO 2,874,515 cmLnneNs TEETER "rorrnn PLAY Tor Silas M. Ford, St. Paul, Minn.

Application April 4, 1956, Serial No. 576,046

2 Claims. (CI. 46-175) This invention relates to a small child's teeter totter play toy for self amusement and training. More particularly, the invention relates to a balanced play toy teeter board mounted to rock on a roller and carrying balanced weights forced by a weighted pendulum to ride in defined arcs and-in addition carrying therewith a noise making weight.

To accomplish'the purpose of amusing small children by self entertainment there is required an object which they can manipulate with their fingers to cause movement and at the same time to allow them to consciously or unconsciously obtain judgment in erecting and causing movement of their creation.

Accordingly, it is an object of this disclosure to provide a training and amusing teeter totter toy for small children.

Another object is to provide a simple assembly of colorful teeter totter toy elements which can be taken apart and put together in the training of very small children.

An additional object is to provide small children with a toy having moving parts which can be put together by them and operated in a fascinating colorful manner to occupy their attention and at the same time afford an early training in guiding and directing their arm and finger movements.

A further objectis to provide a small toy simulating a teeter totter having a base support, uprights on the 'base support, a teeter board provided with bearing mountings,

.balanced weights removably mounted on ends of the board, a weighted pendulum suspended from the teeter board, and a centered ball which rides back and forth over the board as it is rocked on its bearing mountings.

Further objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description of the accompanying drawings, wherein: a

Figure 1 is a perspective of the teeter totter toy embodied in this disclosure.

Figure 2 is a side plan view of the teeter totter toy shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 an end view of the structure shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a top view of the structure shown in Fig ure 2.

With reference to the figures, like parts are similarly indicated.

The teeter totter. toy structure embodied in this disclosure comprises a block base 10, having a pair of substantially triangularly shaped standards or uprights 11 and 12 mounted thereon. The block and standards 11 and 12 are fastened together by pairs of pins as at 13 and 14, respectively, driven into the sides of the block 10 and the relative sides of the base portions of the standards lland 12. Other suitable conventional fastening means as screws, glue or bolt and nut means (not shown) will be utilized.

2,874,515 Patented Feb. 24, loss hce 5 sufiicient width to support bearing'members which roll therein, in the manner as hereinafter explained.

A balanced teeter board 20 is designed to be suspended between the standards 11 and 12 when the toy is assembled. This board 20 has'a block 21 secured to its top center surface 'by suitable adhesive or pins (not shown). A hole 22 is bored through the center of the block 21, and extends from one edge thereof to the other edge into which round peg 23 is wedged to leave bearing ends 24 and 25 in extended free and clear relationship to seat and roll within notches 16 and 17. Thus, with the bearing ends 24 and 25 seated in notches 16 and 17, respectively, the board 20 is supported by block 21 torock between the standards 11 and 12. The bearings 24 and 25 roll freely from side to side in the notches 16 and 17, respectively, as the teeter board 20 is rocked. Centered under block 21 is a weighted block pendulum 26. The pendulum 26 is provided with a hole (not shown) bored in its side 27, into which is wedged or glued one end of a peg stem 28. The opposite end of the peg 28 is wedged or glued into a hole (not shown) bored through the cen ter of the board 20. The peg 28 thus serves to suspend or hang the pendulum 26 in fast or parallel cooperative working relationship with the teetering movement of board 20.

Mounted in the upper surface of block 21 is a U-shaped wire 30 having its free ends 31 and 32 driven into the block 21 and having the center of its connecting base section 33 sloping downwardly from each end to provide a riding surface and center of rest for the free riding ball 34 mounted'thereon. A center aperture through the ball 34 is provided of larger diameter than the wire 30 to permit the ball 34 to slide from end 31 against end 32, or vice versa, with a clatter sound as the board and its pendulum are tipped to one side and released to rock the ends of the teeter board up and down. To afford weights for the outermost ends of the board 20, the ends of the board are provided with apertures 36 and 37 through which pegs 38 and 39, on the ends of figure blocks 40 and 41, respec-, tively, are inserted to simulate riders. The figure blocks 40 and 41 are balanced with the pendulum 26 and the board 20 to normally maintain a horizontal levelwhen the assembled board is stationary or to bring the board to a horizontal plane after completion of a rocking motion.

The assembly and operation of the structure will be apparent from the above description. However, in practice, a very young person obtains an early advantage in training in the mechanics of assembly; also, there is afforded educational self entertainment by reason of effecting motion to produce sound being correlated with finger pressure to cause proper teeter totter movement of the rider elements. 7

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of construction and operation of my teeter totter play toy and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that changes may be made within the scope ofthe following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A toy teeter totter comprising a base, a pair of spaced standards mounted on said base, each provided with an upwardly directed rectangular notch at its upper edge, a teeter board having medially located laterally projecting cylindrical pin portions freely seated in said notches and having an aperture adjacent each end, a pair of figure members each provided with a downwardly projecting peg removably engageable in either of said teeter board apertures, an invertedsU-shaped wire frame having its ends anchored to said teeter board and its connecting base section sloping downwardly from each end toward the center, and an apertured weight member slidable on said wire frame, the slope of said base section causing said weight member to gravitationally seek the center of said base section when said teeter board is horizontal.

2. The structure of claim 1 including a pendulum member suspended beneath said teeter board.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

